Lerøy sees seafood

Norwegian company is ably navigating the sometimes fishy world of seafood exports

Photo: Leroyseafood.comIn 2013, Lerøy built the world’s largest sushi mosaic, inspired by the logo of Bergen’s soccer team, Brann. The record has since been broken by a team of over 100 sushi chefs in Hong Kong.

Rasmus Falck
Oslo, Norway

Lerøy Seafood was the winner of this year’s Export Award. The company represents a future-oriented industry. Knowledge about the sea and the seashore is necessary for Norway to continue our leading role within the marine industry. For a country with ocean area seven times larger than its land area, it should be a clear ambition to export. This is good for the company, the industry, and the country.

Lerøy is the world’s largest producer of Atlantic salmon and trout, and one of the world’s leading exporters of seafood. According to the jury, the company is very innovative and has a strong local presence emphasizing the use of local suppliers. Their focus on increased knowledge, R&D, and resource management impressed the jury.

Lerøy Seafood can trace their activities back to the late 1800s. The group has, since 1999, invested significant funds in various national and international companies and has in recent years evolved to become one of the world’s biggest seafood groups, with emphasis on Atlantic salmon and trout.

In 2013 they set a new world record with the world’s largest sushi mosaic. The record contained 16,089 sushi pieces and measured 31.50 square meters. Guinness World Record announced the record at the fish market during the Bergen Food Festival. The mosaic consisted of 300 kg rice, 129 kg fjord trout, 36.4 kg halibut, 1.3 kg cucumber, 21.75 liters of vinegar, 13.5 kg sugar, 2.25 kg salt, and 14 meters of seaweed. All the sushi was handed out to the public afterwards.

The ban on imports into Russia represents a significant, short-term challenge for the Norwegian seafood industry, as it does for the industry in Russia. Lerøy is working hard to increase sales to alternative markets, but unfortunately there was little they could do to prevent the import ban from having a negative impact on the prices realized by the company, particularly for trout, in the end of last year. This will continue to be the case for the months to come.

For 2014 they had a turnover of 12,579 million NOK, compared with 10,789 million in 2013. Operating profit before value adjustment of biomass for 2014 as a whole was 1,789 million NOK compared with 1,626 million in 2013. The profit figure before tax and before value adjustment of biomass in 2014 was 1,917 million compared with 1,630 million in 2013. Clearly the company is on the right track.

Last year Lerøy opened Europe’s largest and most innovative facilities for fresh fish and seafood in Norway. The company exports to more than 70 different countries. It takes only 36 hours from the time farmed salmon is caught in a Norwegian fjord until it is ready to be bought in a Japanese supermarket.

This article originally appeared in the April 24, 2015, issue of the Norwegian American Weekly. To subscribe, visit SUBSCRIBE or call us at (206) 784-4617.

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